


Darth Padmé and the Cursed Crystal of the Sith

by Stirl999



Series: Revenge of the (kinder, gentler) Sith [5]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dark Padmé Amidala, F/M, Inappropriate Use of the Force, Sith Empire, Sith Padmé Amidala, Sith vs Sith, Skywalker Twins, Very AU at this point, light degrees of crack
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-11-07 16:09:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17963777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stirl999/pseuds/Stirl999
Summary: Six years after the Siege of Coruscant, a new and dangerous menace rises to threaten the peace and the revamped Sith Order.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So here it is. I didn't expect another story in this series, especially so soon after I "concluded" it, but the muse works in mysterious ways, so here it is.

_Past:_

Darth Bane gasped, exhausted from his vision. His hard eyes bulged out unnaturally from their sockets, and sweat poured out through his thin robes as his intense hyperventilating did nothing to calm him. Clenching his fists, he willed himself back to composure, noting the scared young woman in the corner, sitting on the hard stone floors of the dusty old temple and studying him with concern.

"Lord Bane," she asked. "What did you see?"

"The Sith'ari," Bane whispered, the fiery images fresh in his mind.

"The Sith'ari," Darth Zannah repeated, confused. "I thought that was you."

"That may be," Bane said, not wanting to admit out loud the possibility that there could be greater Sith than he to come, "but there will be another one day, conceived by the Force itself, with more pure power than any Sith has ever seen. That Sith'ari will rise to control the galaxy."

"That is good, is it not," Zannah asked, perplexed at her Master's vexation. "That means the success of the Grand Plan one day."

"Yes, but it will all be for naught," Bane spat contemptuously. "The Sith'ari will betray the Sith, one way or another. It is destined."

"How could anyone betray the Sith? Especially once they've achieved ultimate power?"

"A woman," Bane growled, his deep voice threatening murder to all who would dare cross him. Murder upon these traitors yet to be, if only their existence did not lie beyond his reach through time. "She will always be his anchor. She will weigh him down, hold him back from embracing the darkness pure. The full potential of the Sith shall never pass due to her blood. They will make a mockery of our legacy, of all who come after us."

"What can we do to stop this," Zannah asked, after a long time.

"The same way we've survived thus far," Bane said, turning and studying his young apprentice, glaring at her with a fury that would be deemed close to insanity by most. "We adapt. We change the Grand Plan. We build in fail-safes. We turn treachery and treason into opportunity..."

* * *

_Past:_

The Sith had taken over the Galaxy, the Jedi Order essentially collaborating with their eternal enemies, placed in a permanent state of subservience. To A'Sharad Hett's dismay, it was as if none of this had happened in the Temple, all the Masters and Padawans still carrying on with their training, the Jedi Council deliberating these days in willful ignorance of their Sith Emperor and Empress. Many even carry out diplomatic or peacekeeping missions on behalf of this Sith Empire, which to him was a further mark of degradation upon his once proud Order.

Being on the Temple, even on Coruscant, standing on the same planet as the Sith, disgusted him now. His native Tatooine was no sanctuary either...the Emperor's home planet enjoying the pleasure of the Imperial microscope. He had heard grumblings of pacification efforts on the desert world for the Tusken Raiders, the people who had raised him, whose traditions he still revered alongside the Jedi's. Imperial troopers were forcibly settling tribes, partitioning land disputes between the planet's settlers by discouraging the tribes from nomadic ways. Those who cooperated became shells of their former selves, while A'Sharad feared the worst for those who resisted the Empire. He would have liked to return and lead his people against Imperial domination, but one man had no chance against the Empire, and A'Sharad would not have been surprised if the damned Empress sent his own fellow Jedi's to hunt him down.

Meditation was futile, yet he persisted, if only because there was little left for him to do. Many Jedi had taken sabbaticals since the end of the Clone Wars, Master Yoda having been surprisingly lenient and understanding the great weight of the many galaxy wide changes had upon the psyches of his brethren. If only he wasn't so lenient with the Sith, he thought, signing a damned _peace treaty_  with them, out of all things.

So he meditated, though it brought him no peace. He chose Hoth, because the planet's extreme cold marked the opposite of his native Tatooine. Because it kept him uncomfortable, focused on what he already understood was becoming an unhealthy obsession: his hatred for the Sith, and his growing contempt for the Jedi for collaborating with them. Months passed, A'Sharad isolating himself purposefully from the events of the galaxy, relief intermingled with terror when contemplating what slow bleeding atrocities he was missing. As he continued to lose himself day after day into the currents of the Force, he started hearing voices, shadows of the past.

 _Yavin_ , they screamed to him by the end, urging him to action.  _You will find what you seek in the moons of Yavin._

* * *

_Present:_

The twin suns of Tatooine continued as ever to beat submission into all who fell under its domain, the overbearing heat an eternal oppression on the barren, desert planet. A wicked wind picked up, starting as a mere wisp of dust in the Dead Man's Dunes, building speed and deadly energy until the sand storm consumed the entire horizon, obliterating all unfortunate enough to have strayed too far beyond shelter. As families fled into their homesteads and huts, waiting for the tempest to pass, out in the far reaches of Beggar's canyon found a small cave carved into the side of the unforgiving sandstone cliff. Sitting huddled its dark chambers, nary a hint of light escaping in from the storm outside, was a tall man beside a petite, brunette woman, two dusty fugitives taking shelter from the storm, their dirt coated robes a mockery of what their clothes had once been. A closer look would reveal eyes stinging with shame and regret, that their lives had devolved unto this moment, crouched helplessly in a small cave in the recesses of a backwater world.

"What about Anakino?"

"Huh?" The Empress of the known galaxy spun around at her husband, her dark brown eyes as befuddled as they were annoyed by the interruption.

"It's like a combination of Anakin and Varykino." Seeing a blank look on her face, the Emperor continued. "Varykino," he repeated, as if she were dumb. "Our favorite place? By the lake?"

"Yes, Anakin," Padmé groaned impatiently, rolling her eyes, "I obviously know what Varykino is. But...Ani, I say this in the nicest way, but... _what the fuck are you talking about_?"

"The name! For our third child! I've been thinking up different ones all trip!"

Shaking her head, the pregnant Empress sank into a hard, stone bench. "And that's the best you could come up with? Anakino?"

"Well, no," Anakin replied, suddenly all the more shier after his wife's rebuke. "There were a few other ones."

"Such as?" Padmé twitched her chin impatiently, waiting for him to continue.

"Well," Anakin started uncertainly, "what about...Colton?"

"No."

"Clayton?"

"No."

"George Michael?"

"Definitely not."

"Eldridge?"

"Try again."

"Brad?"

"What?"

"Chad?"

"Are you drunk?

"Gary?"

"Over my dead body."

"Shmio?"

"Your mother would be ashamed."

"Joffrey?"

"Puke."

"Oliver?"

"Seriously. Have you been doing death sticks?"

"Snooki?"

"I'll murder you first..."

"Hego?"

"...with my bare hands."

He stopped, the rapid rejections taking a toll on his self-esteem. Outside, the wind whipped furiously, the intensity of the sandstorm matched only by the young Emperor's anxiety. Relieved that her husband's inane babblings seemed finally over, his wife lifted her hand from her eyes.

"Is that it," she asked, hoping the answer was going to be an affirmative yes.

"Well," Anakin started nervously, "I had one last small idea..."

"Just get it over with," the Sith master snarled, her eyes dangerously on the verge of glowing.

"Well, I know you had your disagreements with him, but the name itself I always thought had a nice ring to it...Sheev?"

The small cave exploded with dark energies, the Empress summoning all of her powers to Force shove her husband, who only grinned in response while warding off the attack.

"You're making fun of me, aren't you," Padmé asked as her fury subsided, an amused smirk gracing her features.

"Only with the last few," Anakin admitted peevishly, "after you shot down all the other ones."

The Sith lord stared at her husband in disbelief. "So you were  _serious_  about Anakino?"

Anakin shrugged. "Would you be mad if I said it came to me in a dream?"

"With all due respect to your powers of prophecy, Lord Vader," Padmé said, addressing him sternly by his Sith title, "but your dreams haven't been quite on the mark lately."

"You mean the one where I dreamed that we found out my actual father was a magical walking, talking shaak with long, purple hair and smelled like Alderaanian custard?"

"Or the one where you dreamed Luke and Leia turned into Ewoks and ruled the Empire alongside Threepio as their God?"

"Hey, it could still happen," Anakin said, eyes narrowing, trying to appear the wise sorcerer to his wife, who promptly punched him in his shoulder playfully with her small fists. "Though I guess the one where you're this crazy lady with three dragons can't be real, cause we fuck a bunch of times and then I find out you're actually my aunt..." He stopped mid-sentenced, and turned his eyes towards Padmé suspiciously. "We're sure you're not actually my aunt, right?"

Not for the first time and not for the last time in that cave, Padmé slapped at her husband playfully.

"You caught me," she cried out maniacally, "it's all true. I've always been so ashamed of my older brother, your father, the pleasant smelling Shaak with the good hair, that I've locked him up in a dungeon on Mustafar all this time..."

"My true father," Anakin exclaimed with mock astonishment. "After all these years, what was his name? I must know!"

Padmé bit her lips, looking coyly at him for a moment, as if deciding whether or not to tell him the truth. "Anakino," she admitted with a smirk, and the laughter from her husband was music to her ears.

"Well played, love," Anakin said, embracing her with both arms, their small cave feeling almost cozy in this moment.

"Did you dream he's going to be a boy too," Padmé asked, cradling her belly, the size of a small melon now, with her own hands.

"No," Anakin admitted. "Just a feeling." His eyes widened again, this time in actual surprise. "You know!"

"A girl," Padmé said quietly. "I got the emdee's report this morning, before we left."

"Oh Force," Anakin said, his consternation rising, and Padmé could feel his eyebrows furrowing behind her. "I'll need to meditate, try and come up with a whole new list of names..."

"I was thinking," Padmé interrupted gently, knowing she had his immediate attention, "it's my turn this time. Luke and Leia came to you in a vision..."

"But we could have come up with them together eventually."

"I know," Padmé said, stroking her husbands hands, flesh and metal, gently with her fingers. "But...what do you think of Dya?"

"Dya," Anakin asked, and Padmé could feel the wheels in his head spinning. "I like it," he said sincerely with a smile, after he had given it some thought. "It's beautiful. It's perfect, just like she will be."

"I've always wanted to honor Master Sifo-Dyas, for his sacrifice for us. But had it been a boy, well...he was a good friend, but the name, Sifo-Dyas just kinda...sucks," Padmé confessed, feeling a bit shameful of speaking ill of their former Jedi friend. "But, Dya is fitting, and it rolls off the tongue well."

"Dya Skywalker," Anakin said happily, cradling his hands over hers, and sending gentle ministrations through the Force into his wife's swollen stomach. To his surprise, she bit her lip again anxiously. "What is it?"

"I was thinking," she said, pausing and looking nervously towards her husband's reaction, "we have two Skywalkers running around these days. They will inherit the Empire, and their blood will rule for centuries. Little Dya, she's young, we will give her everything we can in the galaxy, but her inheritance will not be like her older siblings. We could give her Naboo though, Force knows I'm tired of manipulating those elections all the time...but were she to rule my home planet, I think she should do so as a...Naberrie."

Her explanation over, Padmé felt a great weight off her chest, though her husband's reaction was inscrutable. Anakin had never cared that much for namesakes, their most recent conversation notwithstanding, but he cared and loved their children deeply. Would it matter if one did not don the Skywalker name?

"You've thought about this a lot, haven't you?"

"I have," Padmé confessed, feeling a bit guilty for having kept her thoughts to herself for so long. To her relief, Anakin smiled warmly at her.

"I'm surprised you gave Luke and Leia my name in the first place, considering everything you've already done for me..."

"Don't say that, Ani. We're a team, we are equals!"

He kissed his wife gently on her forehead, feeling the storm wane outside. "I love your family, Padmé. And how can I hate your name, when it represents everything about you? Dya Naberrie will be the perfect Sith Queen of Naboo, although," he frowned as a memory came to him, "doesn't Pooja want to be Queen too?"

"Hmmm," Padmé said thoughtfully, "maybe I can convince her to be a Senator instead."

"Always a perfect solution to everything," Anakin remarked happily. Rising, he walked over to the mouth of the cave, and tested conditions by placing his flesh hand outside. Sand still flew at him, but with much less of the furor as an hour ago. After letting the first few pebbles hit him, he pushed out with the Force and repelled all that was coming his way, the sand piling up horizontally in front of his hand as it found its progress impeded by a Force of nature. "Think the storm's almost over," he said. "Just a few more minutes."

"Thank Shiraya," Padmé said, "these pregnancy cravings..."

It did not surprise her that her hormones combined with the dark energies of the Force would give her some weird pregnancy appetites, having experienced plenty of unconventional emotional needs and wants with the twins six years ago. But the overwhelming urge to go, out of all things, swoop bike racing on Tatooine was an odd one, even for a Sith. Anakin had willingly complied, of course, and was in the process of wisely letting his pregnant wife win as they flew through the last stretches of their predetermined course in Beggar's Canyon before they both sensed, too late, the sandstorm.

"Stop by and see Ma before we fly back to Coruscant," Anakin asked. "I'm sure she's eager to see how her newest grandchild is doing."

"Of course," Padmé said. "I'm sure Beru will be happy to see me too. It'll give her an excuse to bug Owen to finally agree to having one of their own. Force, I have no idea what your step-brother's waiting for."

"He can be a blockhead sometimes," Anakin admitted sheepishly.

"And so can you," Padmé teased, eliciting an evil grin from him. "Seriously? Brad? Chad?  _Snooki_? I mean, where did you even think of these? Don't tell me, another dream?"

"I don't know," the Emperor of the Galaxy whined defensively, "they all sounded good in my head at the time."

"Ugh," the Empress said, brushing the dirt off her race suit as she rose to join her husband, "keep it up, Skywalker, and I'll change Luke and Leia's names to Naberrie too."

"Oh yeah," Anakin replied, a daring look in his eyes. "Then I'll..."

"You'll what," Padmé taunted as her husband started to hesitate, not wanting to finish his thought.

"I'll...I'll withhold sex," he finally said, taking a deep breath as he did so, and knowing immediately how unconvincing he sounded. "I swear, I'll do it!"

"Ha," Padmé scoffed, so loud that her voice echoed through the walls of the canyon. "That will be as likely as Luke going a whole week without peeing himself." She shook her head, wondering what to do about her poor, weak-bladdered son. "It's a good thing I'm the one in charge of negotiations in this Empire."


	2. Chapter 2

"Mommy! Daddy!"

The precocious six year old girl ran ahead of her older twin brother through the Imperial Palace complex the moment she sensed her parents' presences on planet, jumping joyously into her father's waiting arms. Picking her up, Anakin swirled her about in the air several times before turning Leia to face her pregnant mother, who kissed her on the cheek several times. Setting her down just in time to grab Luke, whose arrival was followed shortly by several handmaidens, their long dresses proving too clumsy when trying to keep up with the two royal children after they had been separated from their parents by more than one day.

"How was Grandma," Luke asked as Padmé ruffled his long blonde hair.

"Did she have any presents for us," Leia added, putting on her most angelic smile.

"Why, she may have," Anakin said with a smirk. Reaching into his robe, he pulled out two small glass figurines, a Jawa for Luke and an Eopie for Leia. Shmi had taken up glass-blowing as a hobby recently, and Anakin hoped she could start a trend on Tatooine. It would be helpful to the local economy, and anything that would rid the planet of some of its sand was a blessing in his book.

"A Jawa," Luke screeched in delight. "I'm gonna name him Little Lukey!" Whirling it around the air and making vrooming noises, he floated it with the Force towards his little sister.

"Aarrrgh," Leia snarled back, wielding her own figurine fiercely. "Little Lukey is no match for Sandy the Jawa eating Eopie!"

"That should keep them busy for awhile," Padmé said happily, watching her children play with their new toys. She turned towards Dormé, who looked like she aged twenty years every time they left the twins with her. "Were they that bad?"

"Better this time, compared to your last trip to Rodia," her longtime handmaiden replied. "Though Luke did sneak out to the Jedi Temple last night, and Leia followed him there to find him."

Anakin shook his head and covered his eyes with his hands. "Again? Haven't I told them so many times? The Jedi Temple is dangerous! Who knows when crazy old Obi-Wan tries kidnap them again?!"

"He  _did_  insist they were misunderstandings," Padmé said, placing her hands on her husband's back, trying to soothe him.

"I don't know why you defend him," Anakin pouted. "He tried to mount a coup against you, or do you forget that? He cut off my arm and tried to let Gunray's battle droids murder you! He should have been thrice executed by now!"

"I know, I know," Padmé stammered uncertainly, "but he's behaved himself of late. It would hurt Satine and damage relations with Mandalore and...well, I just have a feeling..."

"He's probably planning a more intricate conspiracy against us," Anakin muttered unhappily. "I won't be surprised if he's already brainwashing our children with his Jedi mumbo jumbo, turning them against us.

"Luke was looking for Callista," Leia interrupted sharply, referring to the young Jedi Knight that had found them in the Temple during their last excursion there and who politely accompanied them back to the palace. Her admission drew an angry glare from her brother, and seeing the reaction she elicited, Leia continued evilly, "I think he  _likes_  her."

"Ewww, Leia!"

A bemused look from Dormé confirmed that she had the same suspicions too, and this time it was Padmé's turn to palm her face. "Anakin, you really need to talk to your son about his tastes."

"In letting Obi-Wan within five parsecs of him, yes. But this Callista girl...," he grinned, sensing an opportunity to goad his wife, "who knows? Maybe it's love at first sight. Like with me with you in Watto's shop."

"Force no," Padmé stated firmly, trying to nip this latest headache in the bud. "She's like a generation older than him..."

"You're practically a generation older than me," Anakin continued.

"...and she's a Jedi Knight, for Sith's sake. If it was just one of those things, then...still. No. Just no. I'm putting my foot down righ there and now. I will not have a Jedi daughter-in-law who's older than my own husband."

"Luke's got a Jedi girlfriend," Leia sang, walking next to her father and gleefully joining him in the teasing. "Luke's gonna  _marry_  Callista, and they're gonna sit on the Jedi Council together and hold hands!"

"Am not," Luke shouted back, looking desperately at his mother for help. "Mommy, mommy, I don't want to marry  _anyone_!"

"I'm holding you to that! Both of you, there will be no further talk of marriage for a very, very long time," Padmé scolded harshly, taking Luke in her arms. She looked helplessly at Anakin. "Seriously? Where do they even think of these things? And with a Jedi? We should seriously consider requesting the Council send this Knight Masana out to Endor or something for the next thirty years."

Anakin shrugged his shoulders. "Amee and Kit and I teased each other about the similar stuff back in Mos Espa. We just didn't have evil Jedi child abductors like Obi-Wan lurking around every corner of the planet. Force, to think Tatooine was a safer place to raise kids than the kriffing Imperial Palace..."

* * *

Obi-Wan Kenobi leaned over the railings of the Duchess's royal palace, observing peacefully the comings and goings of Sundari, the Mandalorian capital. He was proud of Satine, having forged through both brilliant diplomacy and sheer will a pacifist state on the historically war torn planet. A generation of children were growing up immersed within her peaceful philosophies and ways...and, he had to admit, under the auspices of stability provided by a Sith Empire.

"Meditating, Master Jedi?" Sensing Satine step out onto the balcony next to him, Obi-Wan turned his attention to her, smiling. She was wearing nothing but a pink nightgown, her aura calm, her beauty prescient even as she approached middle age.

"Just thinking," Obi-Wan said quietly. Stepping up next to the railing, she joined him in surveying the bustling city below. They did not touch each other, open to public view as they were. Obi-Wan was not the overly affectionate type anyway, Satine knew, and though there were times when she delighted in making her... _friend_  uncomfortable, she knew to pick her battles wisely.

"About what?"

"About you," Obi-Wan replied, surprising her with his tenderness. "About everything you've built here. About the legacy you have already passed on to this galaxy."

Sliding her hand next to his, she let him hold her, his durasteel fingers she had long become accustomed to. "You can be sweet sometimes, Obi-Wan. When you want to. When you try."

"Just don't tell too many people," Obi-Wan said, suddenly uncomfortable, though he tried to mask it with a joke. "I have a fearsome reputation to maintain, you know."

Knowing not to push him any further, Satine was content to just enjoy the presence of her longtime Jedi friend. If she could allow herself to be selfish, she would thank the Empress for pushing the Jedi Order into making reforms, chief among them relaxing their view on attachments. They were not to be flouted, of course, in any way that would embarrass the Order, much less threaten it, but there was an unspoken rule now that as long as Knights and Masters kept their feelings discrete, they could enjoy the very ordinary, and necessary, Satine thought, sentient urges to love and be loved.

"I should return to Coruscant," Obi-Wan said suddenly, ripping away her fantasy.

"To return to the  _other_  love of your life," Satine jibed. "What's her name again, the Jedi? Siri..."

"There is no other love in my life," Obi-Wan maintained indignantly, almost hurt that she would suggest such a thing. "Siri and I are nothing more than friends these days. Not even close friends..."

"So you admit you love me then," Satine said, her blue eyes dancing in subtle triumph, and enjoyed as the Jedi squirmed visibly next to her.

"That was a dirty trick," Obi-Wan grumbled.

"Say it," Satine demanded, this time not as a woman, but as a Duchess.

"You know it, Satine."

"Know what?" She decided to press him, not allow him to talk his way out of this one.

"I've loved you since we were mere children, Satine," Obi-Wan said rapidly, his words coming out almost in a blur.

"Then you went back to your Order. And got yourself in all sorts of trouble."

"I feel like this life has been a long one for me," Obi-Wan admitted after a long contemplation. "There have been moments where...I did not feel at peace. Not as a Jedi should. You brought me back, when I was at my lowest." Turning, he leaned down and kissed her gently on her lips. "I do love you, Satine. I may have left you, but believe me when I say I never forgot about you. Not for one day."

Satisfied, she leaned next to her old friend, her Jedi protector...her lover since the Empire had forced the Jedi to change their ways. It had taken years, but she was as patient as Obi-Wan was stubborn.

"I'd ask you to stay, but I know you do as you must." Remembering something, she asked, "isn't the Emperor still mad at you though?"

"How many times do I have to repeat this," Obi-Wan muttered impatiently, "I was  _not_  trying to kidnap the royal children! They were running around unsupervised in the Temple, they wandered there of their own accord, and I was trying to bring them back to the Palace!"

"By taking them offworld," Satine teased. She knew Obi-Wan's response, but she always enjoyed it any time he showed some measure of emotion.

"Luke was hungry," Obi-Wan insisted. "I took them to Dex's first, but Dex was catering some wedding on Alderaan, and I figured the twins could get some of the leftovers. Of course I realize it was a stupid idea now, but you have no idea those the powers of persuasion from those two...literal sithspawns!"

"Two harmless, helpless five year olds," Satine asked skeptically.

Obi-Wan shook his head desperately. "Certainly neither helpless nor harmless. I swear, they've been trained to wield their cuteness as a deadly weapon..."

* * *

After all these years, the Jedi Temple was still a place of solace for him; it was only the world outside that gave him his headaches on planet. Apart from the fact that the Skywalker twins seemed to love to intrude, because that was the right term, onto the Temple grounds, and somehow Obi-Wan always got the blame for it. He raised up the point once, why the two children were allowed to meander the Temple halls with more freedom than their own younglings, but the closest answer he got was that few had the heart to turn them away.

"They're spies," he muttered to himself. "Trying to infiltrate this place so they can obliterate us completely."

"Still so dramatic, Obi-Wan?"

He spun to see a swirl of blonde hair and blue eyes. "Siri," he acknowledged.

"You missed the Council meeting," his old childhood friend said seriously. "There's been grumblings, you've missed quite a few."

"Maybe they should take me off the Council then," Obi-Wan replied, completely serious. He had received his appointment shortly after helping apprehend the future Empress, and despite the failure of all his efforts, they had decided upon keeping him on the Council. Probably because the Order had lost so many high Councilors during the Clone Wars, all the way up to Master Mace Windu, who practically stood equal with Grandmaster Yoda in powers and reputation. "Force, I don't think I've ever deserved the spot to begin with."

"I wholeheartedly agree, Master Kenobi." As usual, her eyes were inscrutable, and Obi-Wan could not discern whether Siri was speaking seriously or in jest. Then, her eyes danced with bemusement as she continued, "lest you implicate the Jedi for good next time you decide to abduct the Skywalker twins."

Sighing dramatically, Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "You too, Siri?"

"That is why you've returned to Coruscant, is it not? How are you going to try it this time? All the masters have running wagers, you know. My personal guess is that you've acquired a significant stash of Mandalorian chocolates to bribe the twins with."

"That's it," Obi-Wan threw his arms in the air, ready to repeat an all too familiar tirade. "At no point, at no point, did I try, twice, to kidnap the Imperial Prince and Princess. Not once! Not one iota! It's total garbage, it's rubbish, and it's not true!" He chuckled, knowing full well Siri was seeing through his act, and softened his tone. "How's Ferus doing, by the way?"

"As well as anyone could expect of him," Siri said, her expression turning serious as well as the conversation turned towards her former Padawan. "Tru Veld was a good friend, ever since they were younglings. And Ferus blames himself for his disappearance."

Obi-Wan nodded. Ferus was a good knight, an exemplary Jedi, and Obi-Wan still believed firmly that the young man had a bright future ahead of him within the Order. He hoped that this most recent setback would be only a temporary obstacle and besides, he faulted the Council in the first place for sending two less than fully experienced knights in the first place. Though, had he been present, rather than off enjoying himself on Mandalore, then perhaps none of it could have ever happened.

"Tell him if I'm always here if he needs someone to talk to," Obi-Wan said, his eyes lost in the moment.

"I will," Siri assured him, clapping him on his shoulder. "As long as Master Kenobi is not involved in affairs of state with the Duchess of Mandalore."

Before he had a chance to retort, she was off, and Obi-Wan could not help but feel increasingly beleaguered as he approached the lift leading to the Council chambers, where the gathered masters were already deep in conversation as he took his seat. Nodding at several masters to acknowledge his late entrance, he gathered that the Council was discussing what he and Siri had just talked about.

"Glad you made time to join us, Master Kenobi."

"Always an honor to sit on this Council, Master Hett. I regret my last sabattical took longer than expected."

A'Sharad Hett saluted him with two fingers. "We must make sure our minds are balanced and clear given the weight of our responsibilities, Master Kenobi."

Obi-Wan grumbled something in return, and the Council continued its discussion into Tru Veld's disappearance. As he tried to catch up with the briefing, Obi-Wan marveled at the state of the Order, that so many younger Masters such as he had seen such rapid rises to sit before the likes of Masters Yoda and Dooku. Ones like Aayla Secura, and A'Sharad Hett, whose particularly had risen from obscurity to a most prominent position in the Order.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Obi-Wan said, "but why were Knights Veld and Olin sent out to Yavin in the first place?"

"A disturbance in the Force was felt, originating the Yavin system," Yoda explained. "Many disturbing dreams, young Padawans had, about a darkness they encountered in several of the ancient temples on one of the moons in the system."

"We sent Knights Veld and Olin to investigate," Hett elaborated further. "We may have underestimated the level of threat originating from the system, though at the time we were of the mind that most of the system is uninhabited."

"It's still uninhabited, from what I gather," Obi-Wan remarked. "What were the specific threats then, did we underestimate, which happened to cause the disappearance of one of our most promising knights?"

"Well, I suppose when you add a three month sabbatical to the benefit of hindsight, well, there's nothing to impede your wisdom?"

Inwardly, Obi-Wan scoffed at Kit Fisto's condescending tone, as the Nautolan master had plenty to gain himself from the relaxation against attachments. It just so happened that Kit's 'involvements', as they were, lived in much closer proximity, and for a moment Obi-Wan wondered as to the wisdom of the policy as, though it benefited him, seemed very adept at inciting petty grievances between Knights and Masters alike. He was interrupted in his thoughts by Hett, who surprisingly seemed unaffected by Obi-Wan's passive aggressive jibe. In fact, the Tusken raised Jedi seemed to him to be the most even keeled member of the Council of late.

"I can't disagree with your sentiments, Master Kenobi. I was the one who, in fact, nominated Knights Veld and Olin for the assignment, and Tru's disappearance weighs heavily upon my conscience, but my own conscience aside, I do believe it imperative for us to find out what happened to him. If he's still alive out there somewhere, we need to make every effort to find him."

"We need experienced Masters for the mission," Dooku added, "one who sits upon this very Council, preferably." If there were any bad feelings towards the elder Jedi Master for siding with the Sith during the Clone Wars, which Obi-Wan assumed were aplenty, they were well concealed, especially considering that Dooku still retained much of his prior influence prior to the conflict. Moreso, even, because of his close ties with the Emperor and Empress. "If there is a malevolent presence in the Yavin system, we cannot let it pick us off one by one."

"I can go," Obi-Wan volunteered, raising his hand. "Force knows I've had enough time to decompress recently. I believe my mind is clear and my senses will be attuned to any threats which may face us."

"I concur with Master Kenobi," Plo Koon added, seconding his motion. "Obi-Wan remains the preeminent authority on the Dark Side in this Order. He was, after all, the first to suspect Amidala of her allegiance to the Sith. The Council does feel that there is a Dark presence behind Knight Veld's disappearance. If there is anyone on this Council whom I trust to uncover the truth, it's Master Kenobi."

"Settled it is," Yoda concurred, concluding a surprisingly brief discussion on the most serious matter. "Select his own team, Master Kenobi will, as he sees fit, for the investigation."

"What if...," Obi-Wan started, "what if we find a link connecting the Sith to Knight Veld's disappearance?"

"It would seem unlikely," Dooku said, predictably defending his friends on the throne. "They have had their chance to obliterate us. Instead, they made peace. With all respect to Tru Veld, why attack a relatively low ranking knight in the far reaches of the galaxy now?"

"I agree," Obi-Wan responded, "I cannot see any obvious motive on their part. Yet, we must not underestimate the devi...the stratagems of the Dark Side, as we did before."

"Look into the matter, we must, without any preconceived notions," Yoda said, hoping to diffuse any brewing argument. "Let the truth lead our way, we should, and nothing else."

Back into the fray, Obi-Wan thought to himself as he surveyed his own sparse quarters in the Temple, so different from his luxurious second abode on Mandalore. Yet he needed this constant reminder of his roots, as taking advantage of the new liberal code took him down a path that could leave him too soft and pampered to serve properly his duties as a Jedi. It wasn't Satine's fault, though Obi-Wan wondered sometimes whether he would prefer it if his dear Duchess resided on a small hut on a world like Tatooine rather than the garish palace that was her due on Mandalore.

"Clear your mind," he said to himself as he settled down into a meditation, sensing that, apart from some minor post-battle refugee work during the Hutt Wars, this would be his first serious mission since the Clone Wars. And there was something elusive to Veld's disappearance that was escaping not just his notice, but the entire Order's. But until he landed on Yavin, there was little he could do but to ensure his feelings were as closely attuned to the Force as he could achieve.


	3. Chapter 3

_"Your highness, your highness, your highness..."_

Anakin shook his head, grasping to all he could in the Force as he tried sharpening his focus, trying to unblur the tangle of words from the dozens of assembled holonet reporters.

"You," he said, pointing towards a gran.

_"For how long will you continue to assume the Empress's duties after she gives birth?"_

"I'd expect several standard months," Anakin said, even though it was none of the damned reporter's business. "And no duty belongs solely to myself or the Empress. We reign jointly, and share equally the weights of office. While there are certain functions Padmé will perform more often than I, and vice versa, either one of us is fully prepared to discharge any aspect of our duty, and as with Prince Luke and Princess Leia's births, there will be no interruptions to the governance of the Galaxy."

He hoped that explanation sufficed, and none of his words would end up being twisted and taken out of context. Padmé was brilliant at this press and public relations stuff but, in the final months of her pregnancy, she needed rest, especially catching a particularly nasty flu on their trip to Tatooine, and Anakin could only hope to tread water in the meantime.

_"Have you seen the initial budget draft from the Senate yet?"_

"I have reviewed it," Anakin said dully, trying not to roll his eyes as he recalled the tedious document and the hours he just spent poring over it. "There are significant challenges. Expenditures are increasing at rates higher than expected, while tax revenues have met our forecasts,"  _a small, harmless lie_ , "lower than usual interest rates, likely due to the completion of the Hutt Wars, have widened an already higher than projected gap. Padmé and I have appointments with the Finance committee before the end of this week to discuss what alternative measures are available to us."  _Or just him_ , if his dear, pregnant wife still felt under the weather by then.  _Damn this Wild Bantha Flu_.

_"Your majesty...what are your thoughts on the disappearance of a Jedi Knight in the Yavin system last standard month?"_

"Oh," Anakin said, surprised to hear such news from a reporter. He leaned forward to counter with a question of his own. "Do you have the Jedi's name?"

 _"I believe,"_  the female human said as she checked her datapad,  _"his name was Tru Veld, your majesty."_

"Tru Veld," Anakin said, frowning as he tried to recall anything he knew of the knight.  _Male_ , he thought, about his own age. Moderate potential, and strength in the Force. "The Jedi Council has not informed me of this fact. Nor are they obligated to," he added. "I wish the best for Knight Veld and hope sincerely he is found, and I offer the Council any Imperial resources should they require it."

_"What is the current climate in relations between the Empire and the Jedi Order?"_

"The Sith and Jedi stand together with a spirit of mutual and positive cooperation," Anakin said, trying extra carefully to parse his words so that he would not worsen Padmé's headache in her absence. "The Empress and I are always willing to discuss with members of the Order any additional way our combined strength in the Force can to better the galaxy, and I would like to commend several masters in particular, such as Grandmaster Yoda, and Masters Plo Koon and A'Sharad Hett, in addition to our old friends Dooku and Yarael Poof, in their outreach to us over the years, and express gratitude towards the very meaningful and productive conversations we have exchanged."

_"Do you have any additional statements about the protests on Alderaan?"_

"Admiral Tarkin exceeded his mandates and acted with excessive and unreasonable force against the protesters. In doing so, he himself has violated the Imperial Code. Already, he has been stripped of his positions and placed under custody, and will face the full brunt of justice from the Empire."  _The arrogant idiot_ , Anakin thought, looking forward personally to torturing the snooty aristocrat. "The Empire also extends is most sincere apologies and condolences for those who were harmed and their families, and we will work hard to ensure that our restitution is generous, fair, and complete."

_"Is there truth to the rumors that Nute Gunray and Wat Tambor were spotted by miners on Mustafar?"_

"The galaxy witnessed their punishments,"  _years of torture at the hands of the Sith, that was_ , "and executions firsthand. All the criminals of the Old Republic have been purged from existence," Anakin said coldly. Then, his eyes brightened as he tried to make light of the absurd question. "The only rumor I know is that those volcanic gases out there have been known to cause hallucinations at times, amongst other irrational thoughts and behaviors."

* * *

Raada was boring. Farming was boring. Fixing farm equipment was boring. Yet it was exactly what Ahsoka Tano needed right now, it was the right change of pace from Coruscant, and all that entailed. The chirping of the insects, her own sweat, plastered against her face by real planetary humidity, the sense of a life of her own time and choosing, these were new experiences for her, ones that she did not mind for the moment. Not that her life at the Imperial Palace was overbearing by any means, as Anakin always allowed her her own space and trained her in the ways of the Force only as much or as little as she herself wished. Not that he had the time either, what with a full time job as Emperor and Supreme Commander of the Military. In fact, when she was not accompanying him on battles during the Hutt Wars, Ahsoka found herself often loitering around the palace, playing with the supremely cute children of the Sith couple, or wandering down and taking in the sights and sounds of the lower levels as she was apt to do as a Jedi Padawan.

"Sleep well last night," a friendly voice asked behind her, one belonging to Kaeden Larte, a young farmer whom Ahsoka was renting a spare room from on the rustic moon. They were friendly, but Ahsoka wouldn't necessarily consider her an actual friend, especially considering the girl didn't even know her real name, much less her place within the Empire.

"Well enough," Ahsoka lied.

"You had nightmares again," Kaeden said plainly, frowning and wondering why her friend would lie to her.

"Really? Was I yelling?"

"No. But you were muttering and grumbling a lot to yourself. Loud enough that I could hear you through the walls. You weren't saying happy stuff."

"Huh," Ahsoka said, bending down and trying to lose herself in the engine of the thresher she was fixing, trying to silently tell the girl that she wanted little more of the conversation.

"You fought in the wars, didn't you?" Evidently the question had been simmering on the girl's mind for a long time. "The Hutt Wars?"

"And the Clone Wars too," Ahsoka said. "They weren't that bad for me, honestly. I was always on the winning side. But some of those refugee camps, the slave quarters we came upon...there are sights I can't forget."

"The Clone Wars," Kaeden exclaimed in shock. "You must have been so young then. What barbaric..."

"Honestly it's not what you think," Ahsoka replied. "I wasn't a child soldier or anything."

Kaeden watched the young Togruta work for several minutes before speaking back up. "You were a Jedi!"

"Was," Ahsoka admitted. Force, this girl was persistent. And smart enough too. Before she had a chance to continue her line of questioning, Ahsoka heard her comm go off. Her secure comm...the one few had the codes to. "Excuse me," she said, eager for an excuse take her leave, "I should take this."

Locking the door to her rented room, she activated her comm, and the image of the Emperor appeared.

"Anakin," she greeted happily. "How are Luke and Leia? I miss them. And you guys too."

"The twins may be getting too smart for their own good," Anakin said warmly with a smile. "I just hope they don't drive poor Dormé to an early death. Force knows she has to put up with more and more now with Padmé getting so close now."

"And I bet she's driving you up a wall too," Ahsoka said.

Anakin shrugged. "It's my job to take the heat. We have a name though."

"What is it?!"

"Swear you won't tell the holonets?"

"I swear on Master Yoda's life!"

"Ha!" Anakin shook his head, happy to be reminded of his student's regular insolence. "Little assurance Snips, but...Dya Naberrie. She will take her mother's name, and inherit Naboo."

"Dya," Ahsoka said, considering the name, "I like it. I can't wait to meet her!"

"We'd like that. The twins keep asking for Auntie 'Soka. It appears you're their favorite sparring partner."

"I can't say the same," Ahsoka said, wincing. "Leia especially doesn't seem to understand the difference between a spar session and a fight to the death."

"You're telling me," Anakin commiserated sympathetically. "How's the simple life treating you?"

"It's a nice change of pace," Ahsoka said as she looked around her drab room. "Definitely not something I'd want to do my entire life, but it's good to unwind for a bit."

"I'm sure you'll tell us all about it when you're back," Anakin said. "Who knows, maybe it'll make for a nice vacation spot with Padmé and the twins. Force knows I need to demonstrate to Luke and Leia there's more to life than tricking the poor handmaidens and sneaking into the Jedi Temple all the time."

"Yeah right, Darth Skyguy," Ahsoka scoffed. "Who's gonna run the Empire while you're teaching the kids how to properly fertilize volcanic soil?"

Anakin grimaced at her, as if she were dumb. "Ummm, you, of course. Once I train you how to do so on an interim basis. You can start by taking over all of Padmé's press conferences..."

"What?! No... _goodbye_ , Anakin." Switching the comm off, Ahsoka was still shaking her head as she walked back into the garage, only to find a petrified roommate staring warily at her.

"Ashla, was that...was that...the Emperor?"

"Ummm...," Ahsoka said, frozen in place, "if I said no..."

"Well, he sounded a lot like the Emperor, and he talked about you ruling as an Emperor..."

"Empress, temporarily, and I think it was a joke...and why were you eavesdropping on me in the first place," Ahsoka asked, her indignation rising.

"Well the walls are thin," Kaeden stammered, "and I don't know. I'm bored. I'm curious. And you're so damned mysterious all the time!"

Ahsoka sighed, with nothing but exasperation left now that her little secret was out. "Well, congrats. You got me. I used to be a Jedi, now I'm kinda a Sith but not really..."

The young farmer girl's eyes widened even more as further memories came back to her. "I've seen you, on the holonets too! The Togruta girl! They never show you clearly, but I remember watching the newscasts of that battle on Toydaria and wondering who that was next to the Emperor on the battlefield."

"First of all, can you stop calling Anakin the Emperor? It sounds so formal. And yes," Ahsoka admitted sheepishly, "I tried my best to stay in the background, but nothing escapes the holonets, I guess."

Kaeden frowned her eyes, not understanding. "Are you ashamed? Because you used to be a Jedi?"

"No," Ahsoka replied. "But I do have friends still with the Jedi, and I didn't want it looking like I was rubbing my new status in their faces. Look, I'm sorry about lying to you...clearly you've figured out my name isn't Ashla. It's Ahsoka Tano..."

"Why are you here? On Raada?" Fear crept into the young girl's dark eyes. "Force, you're here to spy on us? Have we done anything to offend the Emperor?"

"No no no," Ahsoka exclaimed, trying to assuage the slightly older girl by putting her arm around her. "I just needed a break from it all. The war, the court, all the politics...and I guess the Empress wanted me to keep an eye on things. Not as a spy! But she did want me to get a sense of how happy the people are, how they feel about how the Empire's handling things, and not just in the Core worlds. She really does care, both of them do."

Kaeden shirked away from her touch, and backed away from her, pacing the room. "What are you then," she asked, rubbing her own neck, unsure of herself.

"I don't know," Ahsoka admitted. "I don't really have any official title yet. I guess I'll probably be Skyguy's right hand man...woman, I mean, when I get back. After a few years, maybe."

"Force, and you're here, slumming it with me and my sister..." Kaeden looked around the garage, perhaps realizing for the first time just how small and messy the room was.

"Don't say that! You've both been wonderful hosts, and wonderful company," Ahsoka insisted. Her secret out, she sensed that her vacation of sorts of Raada was coming to an end, now that few would ever view her the same way again. "It was a pleasure working with you, and getting to know your family."

"You're leaving?" The sudden way Kaeden said it, the way the poor girl couldn't hide any of her emotions, Ahsoka wasn't sure whether she was sad or relieved.

"Well," she turned her gaze back onto the thresher she was working on, "I'm not leaving at least until I finish fixing this hunk of junk."

* * *

"I see you've gathered together quite the dream team, Master Kenobi."

"I'd hope so, Master Hett," Obi-Wan responded as they awaited their starship at the Temple docking bay, "considering this could easily turn into a nightmare mission."

"Let's hope not," A'Sharad said, nodding in acknowledgement at the gathered Jedi, including Quinlan Vos, Siri Tachi, and Ferus Olin, whose prior experience on Yavin would be critical to their excursion. "The moon in question is a plentiful world, and with any luck Knight Veld got lost and is eagerly awaiting your arrival."

"Agreed," Obi-Wan, noting Ferus's forlorn smirk indicating his disagreement next to him. "I don't want to bring this up to the Council yet, A'Sharad, especially considering my own unique relationship with the Sith...but is this something we should report to the Emperor or Empress? If they are somehow involved, we may gauge a reaction. If not, then they should be informed of a potentially serious threat."

"You bring up an interesting point, Obi-Wan." A'Shard frowned in thought, apparently ignorant of the Emperor's press conference from earlier in the day. He paced the small docking bay, considering Obi-Wan's suggestion. "Perhaps the Council may disagree with me, but I don't think it's yet time. If the Sith are indeed involved, then they will be awaiting our inquiries, and be heavily shielded themselves. If not, then it would not help the Jedi Order if we report upon a threat to them that we have yet been able to define tangibly ourselves."

"Quite right," Obi-Wan agreed, "but I do believe the Council should have a communication plan in place in the event we do have more light to shed on this situation."

"I will bring this up with the Council at our next meeting," A'Sharad said amicably. "May the Force be with you."

As their ship entered hyperspace, Obi-Wan looked over at his team which, oddly enough, consisted of his closest friends in the Temple. Call it trust, or call it nepotism, but either way, he felt confident. And it would be wrong, seeing as their reunion resulted from the disappearance and possible death of an innocent Jedi, but Obi-Wan nevertheless felt content to a part of a team again, ready to embark on a meaningful mission.

"Do you have a good feeling about this, Master Kenobi?" It was the young Knight Ferus, whose mask of a face plainly hid a hurricane conflicting emotions beneath.

"Any preconceived feelings I may have matters not," Obi-Wan said gently. "What does matter is that we stick together, and that nothing escapes our notice on Yavin IV."

"I know you've already given many briefings," Siri said to her old Padawan, "but anything that may have slipped your mind, let us know. Even the most minor details, we don't know what little thing you may have thought trifling at the time may prove the difference between life and death for all of us."

"I know, Master Tachi," Ferus said obediently. "I will try and meditate on the matter while we travel."

"Hey Ferus," Obi-Wan said, swiveling back towards the young knight now that the ship's navigation no longer warranted his attention at the moment. "Don't put too much pressure on yourself, alright? What happened was not your fault, and we aren't taking you to Yavin for you to atone for whatever mistakes you may have thought were made. You know the moon better than all of us, and you know the circumstances of Tru's disappearance. Apart from that though, try to imagine that this is a new mission for you, one with which you have no history."

"Thanks Obi-Wan," Ferus said, and Obi-Wan sensed thankfully that his words had had its desired effect, that the young perfectionist minded knight had eased his mind, if only just a little. "I'll consider your advice."

"I wonder if we should have brought Darra," Siri asked as she, Obi-Wan, and Quinlan alternatively made and poured themselves caf in the ship's parlor room. "She seems to have a calming effect on Ferus."

"Really," Quinlan said, slyly intrigued by her suggestion. "Do you think they...ahem...have been taking advantage the changes to the Code?"

"Oh Force no," Siri exclaimed, almost choking on her caf with laughter. "Ferus...ummm...were he to have feelings for anyone, Darra would not be the  _type_  of person he'd be interested in. They are very close friends, all three of them," referring to Tru, "but nothing more."

"Oh," Quinlan realized awkwardly, and Siri expertly pivoted the accusations back on her favorite target.

"I mean, not all of our personal lives are as salacious as Obi-Wan's here."

"Hey," Obi-Wan protested, "well...I'm sure that Quinlan's had some encounters in the Outer Rim he's holding back on."

Quinlan laughed, especially considering he swore Obi-Wan's cheeks reddened for a second or two. "What can I say? A vagabond's life is, well, a vagabond's life. But some of us don't flaunt our indiscretions out for the entire galaxy to see."

His amusement fading, Quinlan stalked over to the center console, where a hologram of the fourth moon of Yavin stood before him. Studying the planet's contours and gripping his chin thoughtfully, he wondered out loud. "What if all of this is a trap? If those dark visions induced us to hand over Tru Veld as bait, for the bigger lure?" He clapped his own chest, and swung his arms over, pointing at Obi-Wan and Siri. " _Us_."

"The thought has occurred to me," Obi-Wan agreed. "I sense that some on the Council may think so as well, but few are willing to give voice to it." His pacing growing uneven, Obi-Wan continued his train of thought. "The Council feels different these days. I would not have noticed, had I not been away from Coruscant for a time, but...I feel this dark...energy, clouding my mind when I returned today. That something was actively...prying upon my train of thought...trying to divert it away from the pure presence of the Force."

"A Sith plot," Siri asked, sensing the truth in Obi-Wan's words, but he shook his head.

"I don't think so. I considered the possibility, but it doesn't feel right. I've seen through Amidala's plots, and this does not have the same feelings as before."

"What can we do," Quinlan said, secretly silent that he did not have to argue on behalf of the Sith. "If we are indeed being manipulated, whomever it may be, we may be acting exactly how they want us to act."

Obi-Wan gestured at the map of the small moon. "Yavin may well be a trap. If it is, we spring it. Knowingly."


	4. Chapter 4

There was little left of the boy in the outlines of the Emperor's face, Kitster Banai thought. If anything, Anakin was more handsome as ever, the contours of his features settling in to the most masculine angles, as if the young Emperor were manipulating the Force itself towards the ends of transforming himself into the most photogenic galactic despot in history. But accompanying the changes in his appearance was an ever increasing gravitas to the man, complemented by a thousand parsec weariness in eyes that looked significantly older than just twenty six standard years old. Shuffling blindly through the vast pile of datapads on his desk, as if he could magically will them to disappear by reordering them, the Emperor turned his attention belatedly to his childhood friend.

"Kitster," he said, summoning a faint smile to his face, "I hope you weren't waiting long."

"Not at all," he said, regarding his old friend warily. "You handled that press conference pretty well."

Anakin shook his head. "It's like facing a nest of ravenously hungry gundarks. The way Padmé deals with them, I don't know how she does it, but she handles them like it's an artform. I can barely find the right words to recite...I feel like I'm nine again and facing dozens of Watto's every time I'm up there." Rising from his desk, Anakin approached the former slave and embraced him awkwardly. "But enough business, it's been too long, Kit."

"Since the coronation," Kit said, adjusting his sleeves as the Emperor gestured him to sit on a nearby chaise. "That was...something."

"I know," Anakin said giddily, the light returning to his eyes. "Remember when we carved our initials into Mas Amedda's arms when he was hanging upside down, and he was crying and screaming so loudly while we laughed in his face? And then Padmé shot lightning at him again? Good times..."

"We did," Kit asked, unable to mask his horror at the revelation. "I...I have absolutely, no memory, of that. One...one hell of a night, I guess. Wow. I really must have drank a lot..."

Anakin, seemingly oblivious to his friend's discomfort, sighed fondly as he continued to reminisce in his mind. "If only ruling the galaxy was just parties like that. where we just got to drink and laugh and torture. Rather than, you know...actually having to rule an entire galaxy."

He walked back over to his desk, picked up several datapads and, though he seemed tempted to hurl them at the wall, all he could do was wave them wildly in the air.

"Do you see all this? We take one day off to go to Tatooine, and I feel like I'm one week behind. Padmé gets sick, and I feel like I'm years behind! Hundreds of execution orders to sign off on. And all the interplanetary trade route tariffs...there's so many kriffing trade routes in this Force damned galaxy! And do you realize all the budget line items I have to review and approve? Crop subsidies to Dantooine...forestry conservation funds to Kashyyyk...I mean, you can't even imagine how difficult it is to meditate in the Force and try to predict long term interest rates and five, ten, and twenty year yield curves, and even when that vision  _finally_  comes to you, it's so damned boring, I zone out half the time! In my own visions! That should  _never_  happen to a Jedi or a Sith,  _and_  I have to start all over again!"

Working himself up word by word, the Emperor started pacing the office vigorously. "And I have twenty-seven judicial appointments I need to fill this week! Do you know how hard it is to interview these damned lawyers? To invade their minds thoroughly enough to assess whether they are qualified and are integrity filled, incorruptible, blah blah, and hold back just enough to not leave them insane or brain dead and drooling afterwards? I...I..."

Coming to his senses, Anakin suddenly realized that he was rambling like a madman. "Sorry Kit. Got a bit carried away there." He tried smiling, a pained imitation of the grin Kit remembered from years ago.

"Don't worry about it, Ani," Kit assured him. "You've got a stressful job. We all need to let off some steam sometimes. Far be it from me to pretend I'm above it when the Emperor does so."

"Still," Anakin protested, "it's been too long. And your contributions to the Empire have been more than fruitful over the years." With one wave of his hand, he deactivated all of his datapads with the Force. "How goes things on Canto Bight?"

"Fruitful," Kit conceded. Having been freed from bondage since Anakin purchased his freedom years before the Clone Wars, Kit found little reason to stay on Tatooine, his quixotic wanderings eventually taking him to the casino city, where an entry level job manning the card tables blossomed into a lucrative career thanks to his connections with the Emperor himself. "Can't complain, especially considering where we came from in Mos Espa."

"Indeed," Anakin agreed, his own mind remembering his bleaker years of childhood. "I heard you got jobs for Amee and Wald too."

Kit nodded. "They're doing well, and both have moved on. Amee runs a grand hotel in Chandrila, and Wald owns several restaurants out on Rodia."

"Good for them," Anakin said. "A few years too late, but I haven't had a chance to thank you in person letting us know about those child workers, Kit. That investigation kept our torture dungeons full for a good standard month."

"Can't say it hasn't benefited myself as well," Kit said, not wanting to delve deeper into what became of his former bosses at the hands of the Sith, though he had no regrets. "The child 'employees' the casino and municipality hired toiled in conditions little better than the slave quarters on Mos Espa..."

"You don't have to explain it to me, Kit." A troubled expression on his face signaled that, as devoted as he was towards the crusade against slavery, delving in detail into the subject matter was not something the Emperor preferred to do. "Justice was served to everyone complicit in that rotten business."

And favors were granted for friends in the aftermath, Kit thought. The reorganization of the resort city's equity left Kit, an entry level employee at the time, quite wealthy and powerful, and though he sat on the board of directors now, Kit still preferred spending most of the time on the floor, socializing with clientele and his old friends behind the tables and by the bars. This position, along with a prescient ear towards gossip, allowed him to continue providing his old friend with scuttlebutt from all sorts of contacts near and far from Coruscant.

"I can't deny the guilt of swimming in wealth these days," Kit said, studying the Coruscanti skyline as viewed from the Emperor's office on the top floor of the Senate dome, "especially compared to our years on Tatooine. That's why I think I keep feeding you the information, if friendship wasn't the only reason...I can make money, enjoy my wine, women, lifestyle...and still help the Empire do good."

"You do believe the Empire is good then," Anakin said, unable to hide his satisfaction at the remarks. "Do most of your associates believe so?"

Kit shrugged his shoulders. "Most don't care. As long as they are making money, getting their kicks. I hardly think that Canto Bight is representative of the galaxy as a whole."

As he spoke, he could see the wheels turning in Anakin's head, processing his information and obviously deciding how best to use it. Somehow, he realized, the years had turned his old friend, the prodigal pilot and mechanic, into a politician.

"Agreed, but it has its uses." Anakin turned his blue eyes towards him, probing at him now with a startling intensity, and Kit wondered what it would be like for someone to be on the receiving end of that stare that wasn't friends with the Emperor.

The Emperor continued. "I sense you have more to tell me. About the hearsay you pick up on at the casino."

"I do..."

"Not now," Anakin said, casually waving on several of his datapads and floating them over into his hands. "I'm afraid I can't skip the interviews, but I'm clearing the schedule for the rest of tonight."

"It's no trouble, you don't have to..."

"But I want to," Anakin said warmly, yet the authority clear in his voice, the subtle implication of the blurred lines between his personal wants and imperial edicts not wise for one to refuse. "It's been far too long, and you still haven't met the twins yet. Padmé would love to have you over for dinner, and afterwards, we can have a few drinks and discuss things."

* * *

Mild and temperate Yavin would be an ideal locale in most instances, but there was something fetid, putrid, about being on the planet. It wasn't the air, Obi-Wan knew, but rather something pervasive in the Force which ran through it, and from the moment they made landfall on the moon the entire team had come to the realization that there would be nothing easy or simple about the mission.

"Stay close," he commanded. "Be mindful of our surroundings. Don't let anything separate us."

He had shared during the mission brief prior to arrival some of his research in the archives that, though it could not be confirmed, pointed to several rumors regarding the moon, that some of the abandoned temples were once the haunts of some ancient Sith Lord. There were also records of battles between Jedi and Sith in the vicinity, though Obi-Wan could not confirm the specific location. It would be absurd to think the Sith's ghost could still be haunting the grounds, but there was very much the possibility that lost to the ages and tucked away in the Temple somewhere were ancient artifacts or holocrons steeped in the Dark Side and just as dangerous, if not more so, than an actual ghost. And it seemed more and more likely to Obi-Wan that Tru Veld may have run across one of these, which meant that he could very well be a threat were they to find him.

"We investigated several old temples on the moon already," Ferus explained as they surveyed the entrance of the abandoned building before them, "before we came upon this one. I was ready to move on to Yavin II, but Tru said something felt off about this building. I felt nothing, but he did. It's almost as if he was drawn..."

"This may suggest that whatever we are dealing with is intelligent," Obi-Wan mused.

"Enough so to lay a trap," Quinlan added as all four Jedi shuddered involuntarily as they entered the dark confines of the old temple, Ferus leading the way. They walked silently through the dark chambers and musty hallways, descending further and further down into the lower levels.

"We descended that staircase," Ferus said, remembering. Though he had explained the events multiples already to the Council and others, it still felt therapeutic do so at the site of the incident. "I went on ahead. It couldn't have been more than a minute or two, but I noticed he was no longer behind me. I retraced my steps back up and searched all the chambers we had come from, but...nothing."

"There is a darkness here," Siri said to her old Padawan.

"I feel it too," Obi-Wan agreed.

"And I as well," Ferus added. "But I did not sense it then."

"Then we should assume that whatever we are facing is fully capable of cloaking themselves," Quinlan said thoughtfully.

"And it's very possible we feel it now only because it chooses to reveal itself to us," Obi-Wan added, tightening the grip on his lightsaber.

"Tru," Ferus yelled as they entered another cavernous chamber. The other three Jedi pivoted their attention to where he was looking, but saw nothing.

"Ferus?" Siri asked gently, unsure of what he just reacted to.

"You don't see him," Ferus asked, confused. Because he saw plainly the emotionless face of Tru Veld ahead of him, standing inert and prone. He looked again and the Jedi still stood there...but he was emaciated, his face covered in bruises and grime, and suddenly Ferus wasn't even sure whether his friend was dead or alive. Even when he spoke to him.

_"You abandoned me, Ferus. You left me here to die..."_

There was no accusation in his voice, no dramatic pointing of the fingers, yet those words spoken so plainly and evenly cut even deeper into psyche.

"I tried to find you! I tried, I searched for days!"

"Ferus," Obi-Wan whispered softly, hiding the confusion in his voice. "Who are you talking to?"

Looking back at Obi-Wan, Ferus shook his head, perplexed. "You don't see him," he asked, pointing ahead at an empty corner in the chamber.

"I...," Siri forgot immediately what he was going to ask her old Padawan when the visage of a hideous T'surr materialized out of nowhere in her periphery.

_"You thought you escaped me, didn't you?"_

"No," Siri stammered at the apparition of Krayn, the pirate and slaver she had served undercover as part of her trials. An experience that Siri would never admit still scarred her. "You're dead. I killed you."

_"No one escapes me. Not even in death."_

All the attentions of the Jedi were on her now, even Ferus swaying back and forth between the still, unmoving apparition of his friend, and the sight of his former master speaking into thin air.

"Siri," Obi-Wan said, "I think you and Ferus are both seeing false visions."

"Not real," Quinlan said softly under his breath. "You're not real. None of you are," he maintained as he stared at the ghosts of Jedi he had once known. Jedi that no longer lived. They were hallucinations, and yet not just their appearances, but their presences in the Force itself, felt so real.

 _"Traitor,"_  Barriss Offee said accusingly to him.

 _"Do our memories mean nothing to you,"_  Luminara Unduli questioned,  _"compared to approval from two Sith lords?"_

 _"Obi-Wan did his duty,"_  Mace Windu said, his eyes as harsh in death as in life.  _"You ran. You are damned, Quinlan, and you will never stop running."_

"Not real," Quinlan repeated again, his own belief in his words faltering.

"I see there is something highly insidious at work here," Obi-Wan commented. He was the only one not seeing imaginary demons thus far, and wondered whether that was a good or bad omen. Raising his voice, he shouted, his words echoing through the empty chambers. "Enough of the parlor tricks! Whatever you are, reveal yourself!"

_"With pleasure."_

The voice he heard behind him sounded real enough. As did the buzz of the lightsaber at his neck.

* * *

"I hear these days that people go to Canto Bight not for the games, but for the pleasure of your company," the Empress said teasingly as she heaped another serving of vegetables onto Luke's plate. "Especially the ladies."

"You flatter me, your highness..."

"Padmé," the Empress corrected yet again.

"Padmé," Kit conceded. "I enjoy the lifestyle, of course, but I make it a rule not to mix business with pleasure."

"Mommy, I'm full," Luke exclaimed as he grimaced at his plate with distaste.

"Can we be excused," Leia chirped in. "Dormé said she'd play hide and seek with us in the gardens after dinner!"

"Luke, those vegetables aren't going to eat themselves," Anakin scolded gently.

"But I can't fit anymore in my tummy. It'll explode!" To emphasize his point, he made a whoosh sound as he clapped his hands together.

"I'll bet you won't be so full once dessert is served," Padmé said, exchanging a knowing glance with Anakin.

"Ummm," Luke thought, then a sly look crept onto his face, "I think my tummy can fit in one cookie! Maybe two!"

Padmé sighed in exasperation. "Fine. Eat two big spoonfuls, and you and your sister are excused."

"Wizard!"

"Yippie!"

Taking only one half-hearted bite of his veggies, Luke and Leia bounced out of the dining room.

"And don't wear Aunt Dormé out," Anakin yelled after the kids. He smirked back at Padmé. "I think she has a hot date tonight after she puts them to bed."

"Kids still say wizard these days?"

"They take after their father, apparently," Padmé muttered. She turned her attention to their guest. "Kit, I thought I spied a look of disappointment when Anakin mentioned Dormé had a date."

"I'll take it she's not single then," Kit asked chagrined and reminding himself that his old friends could read minds.

"On the contrary," Padmé said, "like you, she's very single and very much enjoying that fact. Ani, do you know who it is tonight?"

"One of those ravers, the kids who go to the clubs every night. Or some banker. Or hells, maybe one of the university students." He turned to Kit. "Honestly, I think she's one of the few women out there even you can't handle though I'll admit, I think our family is 99 percent responsible for her craziness."

"I'll take your word for it," Kit said, thinking of ways to change the subject. "Padmé, I hope you're feeling better."

"It wasn't as bad as we led the holonets to believe," Padmé said, rubbing her belly. "With little Dya making such a fuss these days, I just needed a break, and Anakin was gracious enough to pick up the slack."

"Thrilled," the Emperor said, rolling his eyes. "So Kit, I believe you have some information for us? Unless you're here to escape the attentions of a scorned lover...in which case we would be happy to host you for as long as necessary."

"Can it be both," Kit joked as he took a sip of his Naboo wine before turning serious. "As you well know, many politicians like to frequent our gaming tables."

"And you've given us ample names over the years of those who seem to have a bit too much disposable income to gamble away," Padmé said. "I assume it's another one of them?"

"A big fish," Anakin asked, his eyes gleaming and eager, like a child about to uncover a new toy.

"Not quite the same situation," Kit said, "but Zagen Farhaz."

"The governor of Corellia," Anakin remaked, surprised at the name. "He seems unremarkable. Nothing really came up in the screenings after he was elected."

"I'm not sure he's necessarily corrupt. He comes once or twice a month. Puts down mostly small wagers, and not the type to linger on a table all night. He likes to wander around too...gets himself a nice meal, but nothing too expensive. Goes to a few lounges, finds himself an occasional working woman, but again, pretty typical behavior, nothing too unusual."

"Agreed," Padmé said. "Though he seems to spend an excessive amount of time off planet for a governor."

"Exactly. He drinks a lot too. I've kept my eye on him because of that, but he rarely hassles my people. But there's something off. I've chatted him up a few times, he's friendly but he's very...on edge. Nervous. Always seems to be looking over his shoulder, looking, waiting for someone. I've a feeling something is up with him, but can't get a pin on it."

"Interesting," Anakin said, placing his palm over his chin as he considered the situation. "We've been hearing reports of organized crime from Corellia recently."

"It's frustrating," Padmé vented. "We purged all the major players in year one of the Empire, but it's natural that more will appear in their place. And with all the wars with the Hutts and Guilds, we haven't had the resources to follow up."

"Corellia will be challenging," Anakin said. "We've allowed them the privilege of their traditional independence for the time being. I don't doubt for a second that they've taken our allowances for granted. That will lead the populace to resist any overt interventions, and we don't want to piss the entire planet off. Not, unless, we have concrete proof to present to the public."

Kit raised his eyebrows. While he knew reports that the Empress ran most of the day to day operations of the Empire were exaggerated, he had not expected his old friend to be such an astute politician, though he knew to never underestimate Anakin. "I'll keep my ears open, in any event, but..."

"I doubt you'll find the smoking blaster on Canto Bight," Padmé said, finishing Kit's sentence for him.

"Exactly."

"Ahsoka's on her way back from the Outer Rim," Anakin said. "Maybe I can have her stop by Corellia, sniff around a bit. Discretely."

"I doubt she'll be all that discrete," Padmé said, several memories of the Hutt Wars returning to her, "but she should be able to point us in the right direction."

"I appreciate the information Kit."

"And I know it's in the right hands."

"Well," Padmé said, rising as she motioned for the handmaidens to clear the table, "this pregnant Empress isn't too sick to do some after dinner torture on our political prisoners. Ani? You coming? Kit? You're welcome as well. We have...instruments...for those who don't have the Force."

Kit's face paled. "I'm good, thank you."

"You go ahead," Anakin said. "I'll have a few more with Kit in the parlor. All this talk has me craving some Corellian brandy."

"I take it Padmé enjoys torture more than you do," Kit asked nervously as they wandered the halls of the palace.

"Oh trust me," the Sith Emperor said evilly, "I enjoy it plenty. But what I love even more is how frisky she gets after she has herself a good hour or two of quality time down there."

* * *

Without moving his body, Obi-Wan activated his lightsaber and flipped it behind him, narrowly fending off a blow from his assailant. Turning around suddenly, he was shocked to discover the identity of his attacker.

"Tru?"

"Tru Veld's spirit is weaker and more pathetic than his useless body," a deep, ancient, and guttural voice emerged from the lost Jedi knight. His robes torn and tattered, he looked exactly as he did in Ferus's vision were Obi-Wan privy to that sight minutes earlier. "I have disposed of him, just like I will with the lot of you."

Obi-Wan noticed his eyes, gleaming yellow with a ferocity more than he had encountered in any Sith, from Maul to the current sovereigns of the galaxy. Knowing immediately that a mistake would cost him his life, he struck back a the former(?) Jedi, advancing on him with every parry.

"What are you," he asked as he fought. There were cases of physical possession somewhere in the Jedi Archives, but none had heard of such a thing for hundreds of years now. "What have you done to Knight Veld's body?"

Whatever entity possessed Tru's phsyical form seemed to be toying with him. While he gave no quarter in the duel, he was able to anticipate and fend off easily every strike from Obi-Wan, and the Jedi sensed that he was deliberately being drawn away from the group, who had barely recovered from the shock of their own visions to activate their weapons.

"I need spare few words for a dead man," Tru's body taunted.

"Do you serve the Empress," Obi-Wan asked, standing still and assuming a defensive position as he awaited his backup.

"The Sith of today are barely better than the Jedi," the ancient voice taunted. "But we will restore the Sith to their rightful glory."

As Quinlan headed the charge, Tru's body backflipped over Obi-Wan's head. Fending off the initial parry of blows from the Jedi, he kicked viciously at Obi-Wan's knees, and as the Jedi reacted in pain, he Force shoved him roughly against the nearest wall, and ran with unnatural speed following him.

Recovering his wits on the ground, Obi-Wan called his lightsaber to his hand from nearby, but found himself staring directly into the gleaming yellow eyes of Tru Veld's body. Strangely enough, he was not trying to kill him at the moment.

"You failed once. You'll fail again. You'll always fail." A hand shoved itself roughly onto Obi-Wan's forehead, and suddenly his world was burning.

Rocks crumbled around him even as the fires gained in strength and intensity. To Obi-Wan's horror, he was standing in the Jedi Temple, and as he surveyed the scene, he saw nothing but endless bodies of his brethren, from Younglings all the way to Masters. Walking up to one young Knight, a besalisk, he saw a burnt puncture through his heart, a lightsaber wound. All the other bodies had similar marks, and many were missing limbs and even heads.

" _Your failure is complete_ ," a soft male voice echoed behind him. Turning around, he saw two pairs of gleaming yellow eyes. This time they appeared on the faces of two small humans...teenagers really. Both gripped red lightsabers and clad themselves in black leather robes. The boy was taller, his hair blond and unkempt, and the girl had her dark brown hair drawn into two symmetrical buns on either side of her head. Recognizing their signatures in the Force immediately, he gasped in horror.

"Luke? Leia?"

" _They all failed_ ," the young girl said. She pointed out a crumbling viewport at the Imperial Palace across the district, and Obi-Wan saw that it, too, was on fire. " _All will pay the price of the Dark Side. Of the Sith._ "

" _Life is a perversion of the Dark Side_ ," the young man whispered, his voice even creepier with his calmness. " _The Sith will cleanse the galaxy._ "

" _As we have cleansed the Jedi Order,_ " the girl added, the cruelty evident on her face. " _And the Sith Order_."

"What? Why? You turned against even your parents?"

" _Allegiance to the true Sith Order,_ " the girl whispered. " _Nothing else matters_."

Before he knew it, Obi-Wan was back in the old temple, and staring at the face of Tru Veld, who looked down in shock at the lightsaber sticking through his chest. Equally horrified, if not more so, was the face whose hand gripped the lightsaber.

"What have I done," Ferus asked. "Tru!"

"I'm sorry, Ferus," Tru said. And it was indeed Tru now, his voice, his presence. "I wasn't strong enough to fight him off...hold him back..."

The body crumpled onto the ground next to Obi-Wan.

"He was about to strike you down," Quinlan said.

"You did the right thing," Siri said, putting her hand on Ferus's shoulder, comforting him. "I'm sorry it had to be you."

"We'll need to call in reinforcements," Quinlan said, looking around. "Quarantine the system, do a systematic search of all the temples. Whatever entity infected Tru, were it still at large..."

Noticing the blank stare in his friend's eyes, Quinlan stopped and turned his attention to Obi-Wan. "Are you okay? What happened? You look like you're parsecs away."

"I don't know," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head, so stunned he was by his vision that he was not able to give words to it yet, much less analyze it. "I truly don't know."


	5. Chapter 5

He ran as fast as he could, as if his life depended on it, and then strained every muscle in his body to run even faster. Because if his life wasn't actually on the line, a debatable point, everything else about it was. Dragging a heavy sack, the boy with long brown hair, wavy as the wind blew through it whilst he fled, could only assume each shadow and silhouette in every direction a potential threat, a danger to ward off and evade.

"Han!" A sharp, trill female voice rang through on a sewage filled street corner, the young girl's bare toes jittery and muddy as she held on to the corner of a building, using the crummy molding as a shield as she peeked her head out every few seconds. Seeing the boy, she pointed furtively down the narrow alley he was headed down. "Guards!"

Scurrying to a stop, the boy barely managed to not trip over a curb rounding the corner. Looking down the side alleys, he saw no one but a few vagrants and bums. "Whose Guards? Our Guards?"

"Worm Guards. I recognized one of them."

"Shit," the brown haired teenager swore. "They must've gotten wind of the cargo as well." Tightening the grip on the bag and with his back against the walls, he crept slowly down the alley, mind racing as he spied a small awning ahead.

"You can't get caught by them," the young woman insisted, eyes pleading for his safety. "They have a bounty on your head!"

"They have a bounty on you too, Qi'ra," Han whispered back. "Almost twice mine!"

"I have ways you don't," Qi'ra said tersely. Nearing the entrance, she whispered back to Han. "I scouted this building out earlier...it's abandoned. No one in there besides a few derelicts. We can wait out the Worms."

"This place is disgusting," Han muttered under his breath as they found a small corner in a near empty room, sitting down and huddling together as Qi'ra opened the bag to examine the loot.

"It'll keep us alive." Running her fingers through the soft, brown powder, her eyes shined with delight. "That's a lot of spice."

"Thirteen kilos," Han said proudly. "Enough to get us that ship even after Shrike takes his cut. Get us off this damned planet." He turned to Qi'ra, flashing his roguest of smiles. "Where do you want to go first, babe? Alderaan? Kashyyyk? I've heard stories of Wookies..."

Biting her lips, Qi'ra considered the question. "What about Naboo?"

"Naboo?" Han shook his head incredulously. "The Empress's homeworld? Everyone wants to go to Naboo. We could sell our ship and still barely afford a day's worth of food there!"

"You exaggerate everything," Qi'ra said, punching his shoulder fondly. Turning her hopeful eyes upwards at the dingy ceiling, she allowed herself a moment to fantasize. "Think about it. We can find one of the vineyards out there like they show on the holonets. Work the fields, harvest the fruits...we can have lunch together by one of those babbling brooks...every day will be like a picnic!"

"Picnics, huh? That would be pretty nice," Han said, allowing himself to indulge for a moment, but his fantasy was shortlived, as both of them frozen when they heard the door creak open.

"In here," a raspy voice said, and a ragged looking twi'lek stumbled into the room, followed by a squadron of Corellian Home Guards.

"Shit," Qi'ra swore, recognizing the figure she had almost tripped over minutes earlier. "I thought he was dead."

"I wish he was," Han grumbled.

"Keep wishing," the twi'lek laughed as one of the guards handed him several credits. Upon taking the money, he scrambled quickly out of the room.

"Well, well, well," a older, bald man who looked to be the captain of the squad exclaimed. "Look at what the nexu dragged in."

"Looks like a load of spice," a younger lieutenant with a scar across his forehead said. Walking over to the two teenagers, who shirked back against the wall, he dragged Han up by the collar of his shirt. "And two runaway Worms with bounties placed by Lady Proxima herself."

"Look," Han started, trying to find an angle, any angle, "let us be and we'll...we'll give you half that bag of spice."

"Half," the lieutenant laughed in his face. "What's stopping me from taking everything that's our due right now?" He pointed a blaster into Han's stomach. "After all, the bounty's a bit more if I bring you two in alive...but not  _that_  much more."

"We can...we can..."

"We can introduce you to the Boss," Qi'ra interrupted urgently. "The Worms are a lost cause, we all know this. Crimson Dawn is growing. Join the winning side..."

"Shut it," the captain ordered harshly, pointing his blaster straight at the young girl.

"How about I give you a counteroffer," the lieutenant said, paying heed to the girl for the first time. "Give us your cute little friend here," he said to Han, "let us have some fun with her...and we'll forget about the bounties on your head. Hmm?"

Eyes bulging, knowing he was going to regret it immediately, Han clenched his teeth for several seconds before gathering the biggest wad of spit he could and shooting it right into the lieutenant's eye. Infuriated, he screamed and threw Han as hard as he could against the wall, the boy's head bouncing roughly against the hard surface, then almost falling onto Qi'ra had she not rolled out of the way at the very last second.

"Calm down junior," the captain ordered to the younger lieutenant, who looked to be about ready to further pounce onto the boy. "Just stun them, grab them and the spice, and let's get outta here."

Bracing for the impact from the barrel of the captain's pistol, Qi'ra flinched when the older Guard screamed in pain and collapsed onto the floor, followed immediately by all his underlings. Black leather boots strode in seconds later, and a tall, dark-haired human looked down with satisfaction at his prey.

"Garris," Han yelled in relief, rubbing the blood off his head. "About time."

He elicited nothing but a look of contempt. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted you wastes of breath to pull this off." Leaning down, he grabbed greedily the bag of spice and turned to walk away. "Good thing I didn't."

"Shrike! Wait!" Scrambling to get herself up, Qi'ra ran up to the criminal. "What about our cut?"

The older criminal laughed. "That's rich. Forget your cut, you'd be dead if I wasn't watching your back."

"That's bantha shit and you know it," Han spat out angrily, rising from the floor. "You weren't the one crawling through dusty vent spaces and sewers to..."

Turning abruptly, Shrike walked briskly over until he was looming over the young man, swung his leg back, and kicked him viciously in his stomach. "Don't talk back to me, boy.  _Ever_." His eyes still mad with rage, he walked over to Qi'ra, who struggled to maintain her composure as Garris ran a lustful hand from the bottom of her neck down the small of her back, thankfully withdrawing his prying fingers at the last second. "Be grateful I don't sell your girl here to the closest brothel. Force knows she'll make me more money there than either of you ever could on the streets."

Without another word, Shrike stomped out of the room, leaving Qi'ra, who quickly ran over to Han to examine the vicious cut on the side of his head.

"Don't worry about me," Han said even as he winced in pain, trying to sit upright. "I've taken worse beatings."

"Just keep your eyes on me," Qi'ra said, her eyes filled with concern, "let me know if you feel dizzy, okay?"

The young teenager tried to muster up his best smile. "Just minor setback hmm?"

"It's nothing," Qi'ra said as she helped Han up. "We'll come back from this. We'll get our break, sooner or later."

"Sooner," Han added, knowing neither one of them really believed in their words at the moment.

* * *

"With all due respect, Senator, I cannot ban all holodramas simply due to your personal dislikes. Not even the Empress and I are immune, I assure you. I believe there are, in fact, dozens of shows that satirize us, even to the extent of portraying her majesty as a Gungan and depicting a scene where she performs...ahem, an act of sodomy on myself. But art is art. Deny the people that outlet, and they'll turn their passions towards other, more dangerous avenues."

It took all of his self control to not hurl his comlink into the nearest wall once the transmission ended. Padmé only looked at him with a sly grin.

"I swear," the Emperor muttered, "I am convinced Alderaan elected that idiot as revenge for us forcing Organa into retirement. By Shiraya, after calls like these I'd rather deal with that senile stiff."

"Welcome to my world," Padmé said, rolling her eyes. Like their office in the Senate building, they shared one working chamber in the palace, desks aligned side by side with ample room to spare, and Anakin took whatever opportunity to stay in his home office in these later stages of his wife's pregnancy just so he didn't have to be away from her for too long.

"I swear, try my patience any more, and I'll have to put him through the grinder." The grinder, of course, was not literal, but rather their pet name for the process whereby they cooked up some phony crime for the Senator under question, then proceeded to arrest, torture, and execute the offending politician. It was to be used sparingly, so as not to set a bad precedent, but the temptation was always there for more than half the Senators and politicians Anakin had to constantly deal with.

"I'm sure he'll end up there of his own accord sooner or later." The Empress glanced at her chrono. "Who's your next call?"

Anakin studied his schedule. "Jedi briefing. I'm assuming you'll want to sit this one out as well?"

Padmé nodded. "Sith hormones and Jedi don't mix." Their setup was conducive to such an arrangement for Padmé to listen in his calls without the pressure to engage, any feedback she had she could send to him through their Force bond. The Empress had plenty of work on her plate as well, though Anakin suspected his wife was more focused these days on browsing the holonets for the latest in crib designs.

The holoimages of A'Sharad Hett and Dooku appeared on the Emperor's desk. "Masters," he acknowledged.

"Your highness," Dooku replied with a slight bow of his head.

"There is an update on the situation in the Yavin system," Hett said, beginning the briefing.

"I hope it's good," Anakin said. "Were you able to locate Knight Veld?"

"We did," Dooku said, though his eyes looked far from happy. "Unfortunately, Knight Veld was not of a right mind by then."

"He engaged in a hostile manner the team we sent to locate him," Hett continued. "In the course of defending themselves, they were forced to dispatch Knight Veld."

From her corner, Padmé frowned at the news.

"That is unfortunate," Anakin said sincerely. "My sincere condolences to the Order." He was not about to shed tears over the death of one Jedi, but incidents like this were not good for business. Whatever threat this was, if even Jedi were not immune, then what of the masses?

"The team returned Knight Veld to the Temple earlier this week," Hett said. "A full autopsy will be conducted to see if we can identify the pathogen. Then, we will honor his memory, for the Knight and man that he was."

"The Empress and I will be with you in spirit," Anakin said diplomatically. He frowned, something the Jedi Master said that came to his attention. "Pathogen? You believe whatever caused Knight Veld's...insanity...could possibly be contagious?"

"We do not yet know," Dooku replied, "but be assured that we are treating this situation with the utmost seriousness. Several squadrons will be sent to the Yavin system, and with your permission, the Jedi Order will maintain a soft blockade of the system. Though it is uninhabited, it is imperative still to record and control and comings and goings in light of this recent tragedy."

"If there is a threat," Hett added, "we will quarantine it, identify it, and eliminate it."

"Very well," Anakin said. "As always, we are happy to extend you the resources of the Empire should you require them."

"I hope it doesn't come to that," Hett said, "but the Council will inform you in the unlikely event of the situation escalating."

"Yavin," Padmé mused after briefing was complete. "I thought the name rang a bell. Exar Kun set up shop there, no?"

"Maybe?" Even while she was instructing him on the subject, Padmé cared little about the history of the Sith, and Anakin even less so, and while he recognized the name, he could not even begin to associate what wars some random Sith lord started, or what moon of what system he may have located his base of operations. "You think some Sith lord who's been dead for thousands of years is responsible for Tru Veld going mad?"

"Close to four thousand years, to be exact," Padmé corrected. "And possibly. There could be holocrons and other artifacts in those temples undiscovered by the lineage," she said, referring to the Sith archives she inherited from Sidious and Plageuis, stored in a very secure and impenetrable vault on Korriban. "They can prove hazardous for those not prepared to handle their power."

"Hmm. Should we look into this matter ourselves then?"

Padmé thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Let the Jedi figure it out for now. I doubt it's anything too serious, but we can step in if they're still grasping at straws after Dya is born."

"Sounds good." Anakin considered further. "You don't think this is some Jedi plot, do you? Some scenario they concocted so they can blockade a remote system, isolate it from the rest of the galaxy, then conspire up whatever Jedi shenanigans they can think up, to conduct in secret?"

Padmé gave some thought to her husband's suggestion. "Doesn't seem likely. Let's allow them their leash for now. Tug on it too much, and we'll happily rein them back in."

Checking his schedule, a grin appeared on Anakin's face. "That call ended a few minutes early, and I could use a break." He turned ferally towards his wife. "Any ideas what we could do to fill in the time?"

"Hmm," Padmé thought, trimming nonchalantly at her nails. She looked at Anakin hopefully. "We could play rock, flimsi, lightsabers. Loser has to give the winner a neckrub."

"But...," Anakin stammered, disappointment clear in his voice since he had other activities in mind, "I mean, you  _always_  beat me in rock flimsi lightsabers."

"I know," Padmé said with a satisfied smile, craning her head to her left. "And my neck has really been killing me all day."

* * *

_"Everything you try..."_

_"Every move you make..."_

_"Will be for nothing..."_

_"You cannot fight fate..."_

_"You cannot fight the Sith..."_

"Master Yoda?"

"Master Kenobi," the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order stirred from his meditation. "Sleep well, you did not?"

"No, Master Yoda." It would appear the Skywalkers were a constant cursed presence in his life. Even as he went out of his way to avoid everything about the damned family in life, his sleep was now being invaded by visions of the accursed sithspawn, the same teenaged apparitions he saw on Yavin IV a week ago. Obi-Wan would dismiss it as mere nightmares, triggered by his history with the family, if it weren't for the fact that he could still taste the charred flesh of the corpses littered around the Temple on his tongue.

"Visions, you had again, of the destruction of the Temple? By the son and daughter of Skywalker?"

What he saw in the old temple was so viscerally disturbing that Obi-Wan had not felt comfortable confiding the exact details to any other Jedi aside from Master Yoda, and even that was reluctantly, done with the knowledge that he could not possibly face and understand those deadly visions on his own. "Yes. Some details changed, but the overall picture remains the same."

"Hmm." The ancient Jedi bowed his head in thought. "No further visions have Knights Tachi, Olin and Vos received?"

"I can't speak for them, but I have not heard so. But Master, the sights they saw in that old temple were different. They were haunted by spectres of the past. What I saw concerns the future." He ran his fingers through his beard as he spoke.

"Believe, you do, that the Skywalker twins are in danger?"

Once again, Obi-Wan found himself surprised by the grandmaster's wisdom. So focused had his conscious thoughts been on the horror of the Temple's destruction, that he had not properly considered the fate he foresaw for two innocent children who, sithspawn though they were, were admittedly innocent and adorable at the present moment. To see them twisted into such abominations seemed...felt so... _wrong,_ like a perversion of the Force itself.

"You know my past with the Emperor and Empress, Master Yoda. Even so, I do not believe they would train their children into the kind of Siths I saw in my vision."

"Yet once unleashed the Dark Side is, lose control even the Skywalker and Amidala could. Shape their will over the Force forever, beyond even their means it may be."

"And clearly it is possible this vision is a trick, meant to mislead us by whatever entity occupied Tru Veld's body, for purposes we cannot determine."

Yoda nodded his approval. "Draw conclusions, then, we cannot. Not until the investigation on Yavin is complete."

There was something the grandmaster was holding back, that even Yoda seemed unduly anxious regarding. "Have the researchers made any progress in the archives regarding the history of those Temples."

The grandmaster's ears drooped in sadness as he turned his ancient eyes onto Obi-Wan. "Trust you, I do, Master Kenobi. Confide this to others, you cannot."

"I understand, Master Yoda."

"Records we have found, indicating that the Temple once belonged to a Sith Lord. Erased however, the detailed files were, from the archives."

"Erased," Obi-Wan asked incredulously, realization dawning in his eyes. "But only a Council member would have the codes to do such a thing!"

"Careful me must be, when choosing whom we can trust in the Temple. Clouded, the Force is, by the Dark Side. And not the fault it is of the Sith we know, I do not feel."

The implication was clear. As prescribed according to the treaty of Dagobah, use of the Dark Side was strictly prohibited by members of the Jedi Order, and Obi-Wan understood perfectly Yoda's apprehensions of the consequences and Imperial backlash were suspicions to leak to the Emperor or Empress that members of the Order, possibly a Council member to boot, were engaged in the dark arts.

"Is there anything we can do at this point, Master Yoda?"

"Cleanse yourself, you must, of any dark influences, and follow, we can only, the path the Force wishes us to take."


End file.
